Tuition for attending college is expensive. Additionally, students must bear the costs of living on-campus while pursuing their higher education. Most large colleges and universities have residential complexes that are dedicated towards providing comfortable housing for students. However, some on-campus housing options may be too expensive for certain students. Fortunately, it’s possible for students to live off-campus for an affordable price. Many cities in the U.S. have residential neighborhoods that are located within a convenient walking or commuting distance to local college and university campuses.

The most viable off-campus housing for students is an apartment unit. Several students can share a single apartment or condo that may typically have up to three bedrooms. The cost for monthly rent significantly drops when multiple students live in an apartment. Additionally, initial security deposits are not as expensive as all of the fees associated with on-campus dormitories. Best of all, college students may get their security deposit back after they move out of an off-campus apartment. By contrast, on-campus housing units do not refund any deposits and other fees.

Large colleges often operate free shuttle services between campuses and local residential neighborhoods. At the same time, most major universities are easily accessible by public transportation such as bus, commuter rail and rapid transit. This means that students might live relatively far away from a school and still have reliable methods of transportation to a campus. Searching for housing near UC Berkeley is an example of seeking residential options for students in Northern California.

Students ideally want to move into furnished apartments. This means that the residential units have furniture and appliances ready to be used. Some off-campus housing might even have washing machines and dryers. Surely, most students would prefer to do their own laundry at home rather than at shared facilities in college dorms. Furnished apartments might even have flat screen televisions and other entertainment devices such as surround sound speakers. However, such expensive items might come with one-time security deposits in addition to the standard rent security payment.

Students living at off-campus housing can set up automatic rent payment plans online. These days, mobile apps are also available to remind residents about their due dates. Parents can also have the option of paying for a portion of their children’s rent by setting up recurring transfers to landlords. Image Credit: Ambro – FreeDigitalPhotos.Net